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The "Punk'd" wiseguy and co-star of "That '70s Show" shows an unseen side of himself in "The Butterfly Effect." The dark, time-twisting thriller finds Kutcher's character discovering long-repressed memories, and then learning that he can travel back in time to revisit and revise them. But he learns that one small change can create a ripple effect. MTV News' Ryan J. Downey sat down with Kutcher recently to find out why he'd taken a break from the laughs.
MTV: You've mentioned that you wanted to do this movie because it was an opportunity to show people some of your abilities that haven't been seen yet. Can you elaborate on that?
Ashton Kutcher: I like to keep doing something different and something new. I got bored really easily doing [comedy] stuff over and over and I wanted to try something like this, not knowing for sure that I could do it but knowing that it was a big challenge and I was going to have to work really hard to pull it off, which I still don't really know if I've done yet. And I don't know if I get to know that, but I saw this script and I liked the character. I liked what the character represented and the metaphor of what the character represents, which is a person who blocks out the dramatic moments in his life. I think as people and as a population, we do that. We block out anything that makes us feel uncomfortable and say, "That's not happening, that's not happening." When we become responsible, we have to face it, acknowledge that it feels uncomfortable and acknowledge that's why it's wrong, and then be active in fixing it, solving it, and do that by giving selflessly. That's what the movie's about to me.
MTV: What made you go with something so dark for one of your first big dramatic roles?
Kutcher: Well, the stuff that's dark in it is really ... when you watch it, you actually feel uncomfortable. You get that feeling of, like, "Wow." And the reason why it makes us feel uncomfortable is that we realize that it actually happens. You know, it's real stuff, it's not fantasy. The stuff in the movie that makes you feel uncomfortable is stuff that really, really happens. And I think that's an important message. I didn't choose it and go, "This is a dark movie, I've gotta do it." I chose it [because] it's about a guy giving without receiving. He's giving selflessly, and in giving selflessly he receives happiness.
MTV: You've been so well received as a comedic actor. How prepared are you for criticism if people aren't quite ready to see you as a dramatic actor?
Kutcher: You know, Tom Hanks was a comedian. Bill Murray I think is up for a Golden Globe for "Lost in Translation," maybe an Oscar. John Travolta started on "Welcome Back, Kotter." Look, some people are going to hate what I do no matter what I do. That's just the way that it works. Some people are gonna go, "Aw, this guy is a clown. What's he doing? Get him outta there." Some people are going to go to this movie just to root against me, and I'm cool with that. ... Look, even if I fail and never do another movie again, I've already done it, man, you know? I never even thought that I would have an opportunity to have my name above the title of the movie that I'm starring in. I mean, that was the dream, so I've already done it. So if I fail, that's all right.
MTV: Speaking of picking and choosing, why did you decide not to do the new Superman movie?
Kutcher: I read it, I liked the script, it was really cool, [but] they just kind of never got the movie going. It's not being made right now, as far as I know. They never got it going and it wasn't really about like, the lore of anything. A lot of stuff kind of got made up about that. It just didn't happen.
MTV: Would you be interested if it got off the ground again?
Kutcher: Yeah, maybe. If the timing's right and everything's working out.
MTV: "Punk'd" is also grounded, right?
Kutcher: "Punk'd" is done, but you can see more "Punk'd." The DVD is coming out January 20 and ... there's new footage on that of bits that we shot that never aired.
MTV: You mentioned getting bored with stuff ...
Kutcher: Yeah, you know what it was? I respect the audience and MTV. MTV gives me a great opportunity to do new stuff without judging me. That's the great thing about MTV. And in the same way, I have reverence for the people who watch that channel because that was me a couple years ago. And I know how quickly I get bored of something. And we've kind of had the same format and the same thing going on. And my thought was, "If we can't do something new, let's not do it anymore." So coming up we've got two new shows that we're working on. We've got a show called "SNAFU," which is "Situation Normal All F---ed Up," and a show called "My New Best Friend." ... We're going to try to make those cool and something different.
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Photo: Shane Harvey
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